Henry Mouton cops a plea. Agrees to help Feds in the case against Team Heebe/Ward/River Birch

This is old news by now folks. In reality nothing much happened today except that the marriage between Teams Letten and Mouton was made official today by Judge Martin Feldman. If Mr Mouton delivers the goods as expected he will get off very light. Game theory has a very good explanation of what lead us to this point in the concept of Prisoner’s Dilemma. Mouton is the first documented squealer so it is fair to believe he is in line for the best deal from Team Letten. For Aaron Broussard, Tom Wilkinson, Tim Whitmer and wifey Dawn this may not be perceived as bad news for them but trust folks it is very bad news for them.

With what we’ve seen on these pages about Mouton, if he delivers like we all think he can I personally have no problem with the 50 lashes with a wet noodle concept for him.

Mitch Landrieu’s co-Deputy Mayor, along with CAO Andy Kopplin and co-Deputy Mayor Emily Sneed? That’s the same admninistration which also hired Nanette Jolivette Brown as city attorney, the former Morial sanitation director who renegotiated sanitation contracts for Mitch?

What does Duplessis’ department have oversight on again?

How is that recycling program going again? Those bins big enough for ya?

Really, Oyster, seriously, add up the companies and relatives and employees of Albert J. Butch Ward and James T. Jim Ward (you gotta look under AJ, Albert, James, Jim, Butch, etc., etc., etc.) and see if Mitch Landrieu has received more $$$ from any other source.

And, again, River Birch is the one NO sanitation contract NOT renegotiated to date. And no it is not the smallest contract.

5.23.07 TP:

“Senate committee buries landfill bill

The Senate Committee on Environmental Quality rejected a bill Tuesday that would have prohibited new landfills in eastern New Orleans. Senate Bill 166 by Sen. Ann Duplessis , D-New Orleans, would have prevented the secretary of the state Department of Environmental Quality from issuing permits for solid-waste disposal facilities for Orleans Parish east of the Industrial Canal and north of the Mississippi River. The bill would have prohibited Type I, II and III facilities, which would have included construction and demolition debris and municipal and industrial waste. The bill would not have closed the city-run Gentilly landfill but would have prevented other landfills, including private facilities that have been proposed. Residents of eastern New Orleans, including members of a Vietnamese-American community, the Louisiana Environmental Action Network and ACORN spoke in favor of the bill. It was opposed by the city of New Orleans based on concerns about preventing new industry from investing in the city and restricting the disposal of waste. Two ministers and a group of citizens from West Jefferson, including about 20 people from Waggaman, spoke against Duplessis ‘ bill. They complained about the smell and potential health effects of a landfill near their community and said that landfill already takes a lot of waste from New Orleans. That trend would only continue if new landfills in New Orleans were prohibited, they said. Conceding defeat in the Legislature, Duplessis said she would try to implement her proposal on the local level.”

Since its reopening six weeks ago after a hiatus of nearly two decades, the Old Gentilly Landfill in eastern New Orleans has quickly become one of the area’s busiest landfills , with as much as 100,000 cubic yards of debris arriving on some days.

It has been a surprising resurgence for a landfill that sits atop an old city waste site built in the years before environmental regulation and one that still does not meet some basic state requirements. …

…Regardless, regulators say there’s nothing to fear from Old Gentilly because it is accepting only relatively benign waste designated as construction and demolition, or C&D. In fact, Chuck Brown, assistant secretary of the state Department of Environmental Quality, who signed off on the landfill ‘s reopening, took the unusual step of holding a news conference on behalf of the landfill . Standing at Old Gentilly, Brown said, “We’re quite fortunate to have it.”

Brown is backed by a recent assessment by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which essentially gave the site an acceptable bill of health.

Still, environmentalists and others familiar with landfills are uneasy, noting troubling parallels between Old Gentilly’s reopening and the mass dumping of storm debris in 1965, after Hurricane Betsy, at the previously closed Agriculture Street Landfill . That area was later named a Superfund site, a federal designation that requires a massive cleanup.

If a similar situation were to recur with Old Gentilly, the city could be on the hook for millions of dollars in cleanup costs.

“My big question is: Why use a facility that has all these variables, that has a big question mark on it?” said Nannette Jolivette , a lawyer who served as city sanitation director from 1994 to 1996. “We’ve spent far too many of our tax dollars to defend the bad environmental decisions of the past. It seems people are almost doomed to repeat those mistakes. We’ve been down this road before.” …

… In keeping with that line of thinking, the DEQ is considering allowing several other old landfills to reopen, including the Crescent Acres site in St. Bernard Parish and the old Recovery 1 Landfill in eastern New Orleans.

Environmentalists and even some regulators see that as a dangerous idea. In a recent letter to the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service expressed a series of concerns about the possible reopening of Recovery 1, which is next to the Bayou Sauvage Urban National Wildlife Refuge, one of the largest bird rookeries on the Gulf Coast.

“We are . . . very concerned about the possible future use of that facility for the disposal of demolition/construction debris for several reasons,” the letter states in part, noting that Recovery 1 — like the Old Gentilly Landfill — is not equipped with a protective liner.

“Given the scope and nature of the flooding events and the age of many of the buildings in question, we believe that the delivery of materials containing numerous environmental contaminants such as lead-based paint, asbestos, creosote, arsenic-based wood-treatment chemicals, various petroleum products, and a variety of household pesticides and cleaning chemicals would be unavoidable,” the letter says.

“Placement of such materials in an un-lined landfill , particularly within coastal wetlands, would likely result in leaching and resultant contamination of ground water, surface water and adjacent wetland habitats. We believe that disposal of demolition/construction debris must be conducted based on a thorough and rigorous analysis of all available landfills to avoid the potential for creating a new Superfund site, such as the Agriculture Street Landfill .”

Though the Fish and Wildlife Service’s letter was aimed at Recovery 1, other observers say the concerns apply to Old Gentilly. The city and state are ignoring such warnings at their peril, critics say.

“To do this when there’s so many other options to me is shortsighted,” Jolivette said. “It’s a no-brainer. It’s d

“Despite the vocal opposition, the Chef Menteur landfill opened in April 2006, although demands for proof of its safety prompted Nagin to shut it down briefly a few weeks later. Within 24 hours of his re-election in May, Nagin threw open the gates.

The following month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service waded into the landfill debate, asking that a liner be installed under the new landfill to reduce the chances that noxious material would leach into the nearby refuge.

Days later, then-state Sen. Ann Duplessis, who now serves as Mayor Mitch Landrieu

During his tenure as Lt. Governor, Half-Moon owned and operated a lawyer-mediation service (See La. Sec of State website). The first question is whether Lt. Governor of La. is a “full-time” job, or if the Lt. Gov. can do “outside work” . . . kind of like police details. Half-Moon DEFINITELY mediated cases while he was Lt. Gov. He did so on weekdays, which raises the second question. Was our Lt. Gov. making “outside” money on days (workdays, paid vacation, sick-days) while he also was collecting a salary from the La. taxpayers?

I don’t remember the precise time frame, but Mitch was appointed as a “Special Master” in the NOTX litigation to help Fayard and others hand out the money that was left over after the attorneys staked their portion.

I think the NOTX settlement happened when he was still in the State legislature. Of course, he could have a main job in that governmental capacity. But the mediation stuff DEFINITELY occurred while he was Lt. Gov.

You’re probably right on that point. There were no less than 3 large settlements in that case. His appointment was sometime in 2002 or 2003, if I remember correctly. I don’t know if he ever withdrew from his special master appointment. There was another settlement in NOTX in ’04 or ’05.

– Senator Ann Duplesiss and Rep. Rene Gill Pratt recieved their target letters. Someone paid them some $$$ to change their position on the Almonaster Landfil.

BINGO! Give that man a cigar. AD has reportedly been asked to step down and told her boss to fuck off…she’s not budging. MM is gonna have to man up and fire her ass or she’s about to be a huge headache for his admin.

jr: Could the SDT sale to IESI you announced occurred today be the explanation why all the recycling contracts have been continued and are to be redone in Jefferson. One less sanitation company means more contracts and greater profits for the few remaining ones. It must have been such a magnanimous deal SDT couldn’t refuse the $$$$$$.

IESI had quite a few people connected in Jefferson politics and probable still does. Does that tell you something about the mega profits these companies rape from the municipalities in exchange for employing relatives of and giving their campaign contributions to the corrupt politicos.

Lockemuptight, you could be on to something about the garbage collection contractors and the cancellation and reauthorization of the recycling bids in Jefferson Parish. Remember, the River Birch deal started off as a yard-wood waste recycling proposal and morphed into something entirely different. This council appears to want to manipulate recycling bids to achieve a desired end. This has been happening since 2008 when the Parish first tried to bring back the recycling program. Two bids were supposed to go out on the market at the same time, one for curbside recycling and one for the collection processing and recycling of yard and woody waste. Well, look what happened, that was supposed to include a yard and woody waste recycling program

The council did nothing with the curbside recycling bids that were received in 2008. Look what happened to the yard/woody waste proposal. It turned into a garbage proposal. My point is that there seems to be a pattern of manipulation going on here, in my opinion. Am I the only one who views it this way?

nolakat: You should’nt feel alone in thinking the Jefferson Council AND Adminstration have sabotaged the latest recycling bids in order for certain garbage companies to receive parish contracts. .Just follow the money- and in this surprise, recent case of IESI buying out SDT for secret megabucks my Las Vegas bet is on IESI to put the big bucks in the pockets of the right people to get the future contracts in Jefferson.

Now maybe IESI might not be a bad pick if innovative garbage man Torres would include in his contract periodic lemon deodorization of all the council offices on the east and west banks and maybe even constable Tony Thomassie’s office as a little lagniappe.

For a Canadian parent company to be interested in our garbage way down here tells you what profits they stand to create through their political influence. What, there is not enough garbage in Canada to keep them happy or is it they can’t exert their political influence there like they can in Jefferson with our money hungry politicos.

Until the U.S. Attorney’s office comes down on these bribe- ready, garbage magnates with a heavy hand they will continue to corrupt the politicos and the public will continue to get raped with rising garbage/recycling fees and future political scandals.

Sorry Sidney, garbage collecting is not the glitzy, sexy business as you tried to portray with your lemon spray and tooling around with the likes of Kid Rock and Lenny Kravitz. It has become nothing more than a stinking, political PAYOLA CRAP pig pen. And if I had a face like yours I’d be in Hollywood with a brunette on my right, a blond on my left and a redhead kneeling and certainly would’nt be rolling in and pushing crap around with my snout with the ugly politico pigs.

Mitch Landrieu hired two additional people who spoke out against the Old Gentilly Landfill (Nannette Jolivette and Ann Duplessis).

The ONE sanitation contract out of four NOT renegotiated by the Landrieu administration? River Birch.

Mitch Landrieu also received tons of campaign money from Ward, Heebe and River Birch related relatives and entities. Here are the contributions to Mitch Landrieu from the Wards, the Sneeds, Heebe, and their companies and relatives for the 2010 race alone:

While the Landrieu administration publicly denies Duplessis is the subject of a federal investigation word on the inside is that she is being treated like the red headed step child with leprosy by the City Administration who desperately want her to quietly exit the Landrieu Administration. The Duplessis target letter may be the worst kept secret in City Hall these days.

Weeks after his office issued a critical report about possible ethics violations in the New Orleans Police Department, the city’s top government watchdog asked for protection under the Civil Service Department’s whistle-blower rules.

Peter Munster, director of the city’s Office of Municipal Investigation, apparently sought the protection because he feared retaliation related to his office’s investigation of the two top NOPD officers.

Whistle-blower laws are designed to protect those who identify possible wrongdoing from reprisals such as demotion or dismissal.

Because Munster died July 10 in a car accident in New Mexico, the exact nature of his request and the reasons for it are unknown.

The Civil Service Department, in response to a public-records request by The Times-Picayune and other news organizations, refused Thursday to release any materials related to Munster’s whistle-blower claim.

“The spirit and intent of the ‘whistle-blower’ provision of the rules is designed to protect those city employees who prudently give information to appropriate authorities about conduct prohibited by law or regulation,” said Michael Doyle, director of the Civil Service Department, in a letter refusing the public-records request.

“Because of the sensitive nature of this material and the great potential that the ‘whistle-blower’ could incur reprisals if such disclosures were made public,” Doyle said, “the Civil Service Department holds such records to be confidential.”

Although the records remain sealed, some details are surfacing through conversations Munster had in the weeks before his death, when he apparently discussed the concerns that led to his whistle-blower request.

“Mr. Munster felt that the administration, particularly his superiors, did not like the subject matter of the investigation,” said Rafael Goyeneche, president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission, a watchdog group whose complaint initiated the investigation of the Police Department. “They put pressure on Mr. Munster to tone down the nature of these reports.”

Munster balked at the requests, Goyeneche said, and the report, criticisms and all, was issued in late April.

The probe, conducted by OMI investigator Ray Burkart, centered on complimentary cellular telephones given to Police Superintendent Richard Pennington and Deputy Chief Ronal Serpas by BellSouth, which has a contract to provide other phone service to the Police Department.

In his 75-page report, Burkart said the two men used the phones to make personal calls, apparently in violation of state ethics laws and department rules regarding gifts.

What Munster saw as attempts at intimidation did not end with the release of the report, said Goyeneche, who spoke with Munster just days before his fatal accident.

“At some point, he decided it wasn’t something that was going to blow over. That is the reason he filed,” Goyeneche said. “He did confide to us that pressure had been put on him by his superiors. (He said) the pressure was getting unbearable. He felt that he had been targeted.”

As director of OMI, Munster reported to the city’s chief administrative officer.

Chief Administrative Officer Marlin Gusman did not return calls for comment Friday. Mayor Marc Morial’s office also did not return a call, and the Police Department referred questions on the matter to Gusman.

In the past, Gusman has been highly critical of the cellular phone report, calling it “silly and supercilious” and saying the findings were wrong.

The day the report was made public, Gusman said he would launch his own inquiry into the seven-month cellular-phone investigation, which he said might have been tainted by “ulterior motives” on the part of Burkart, whose wife is a civilian employee of the Police Department.”

“A French Quarter striptease club that was raided and closed by police Saturday night sometimes used off-duty city police officers as security guards.

After club managers and police made that known Monday, police announced that Superintendent Arnesta Taylor is stiffening department regulations dealing with police officers’ moonlighting.

However, Lt. Sam Fradella, a department spokesman, refused to link the revision of off-duty detail regulations with the raid on Crescent Cabaret.

Fradella said none of the officers that worked for the club when off duty is believed to have been present when the raid was conducted.

Taylor has given all officers now working in establishments that serve alcoholic beverages until Friday to resubmit their applications for review.

Two managers and 10 dancers were booked with a variety of alleged municipal offenses after Saturday’s raid, including the failure of the dancers to properly cover their nipples.

Operators of the club maintain it was operating legally when raided. And a vice president of Crescent Cabaret Inc., Greg Cagle, said the club’s routine use of off-duty police officers buttresses that claim.

“Although the officers mainly provided security… , they were there in the club and had occasion to see anything going on,” Cagle said. “If we were doing anything illegal, I don’t think we’d be having off-duty police in our place.”

A police lieutenant who scheduled off-duty officers signed up to work for Crescent Cabaret said the officers worked outside and wouldn’t have known what was going on in the dance floor area.

“We handle the valet parking, the traffic control and secure their money so they don’t get robbed at the front door,” said Lt. L.J. Canal .

The club reopened Monday. Cagle said managers left it up to the female dancers to decide whether they wanted to continue wearing transparent covers on their nipples.

Cagle said the transparent silicone “pasties” being worn by club dancers when arrested Saturday do not violate the ordinance prohibiting bare nipples.

He said club operators had been told by the city attorney’s office that the pasties were legal.

Cagle also said allegations by police that the club had no liquor licenses were ludicrous.

“Why would we invest a million dollars in a club and then not have our permits in order?” Cagle said.

City records show Crescent Cabaret received occupational, liquor and dance permits oN April 15.”

7.14.92 TP:

“Off-duty New Orleans police officers worked as security guards at a French Quarter striptease club that was raided Saturday by police, club owners and police said Monday.

Taylor has given all officers now working in establishments that serve alcoholic beverages until Friday to resubmit their applications for review.

Crescent Cabaret was closed Saturday night after a police vice raid. Two managers and 10 dancers were booked with a variety of municipal offenses.

Operators of the club maintain it was operating legally when raided. And a vice president of Crescent Cabaret Inc., Greg Cagle, said the club’s routine use of off-duty police officers buttresses that claim.

“Although the officers mainly provided security . . . they were there in the club and had occasion to see anything going on,” Cagle said.

“If we were doing anything illegal, I don’t think we’d be having off-duty police in our place,” he said.

But a Police Department lieutenant who scheduled off-duty officers to work for Crescent Cabaret said the officers worked outside and wouldn’t have known what was going on in the dance floor area.

“We handle the valet parking, the traffic control and secure their money so they don’t get robbed at the front door,” said Lt. L.J. Canal , commander of the homicide division.

“We’re not there for any type of innerclub activity and we wouldn’t have any first-hand knowledge (of alleged violations) because we don’t go inside the club.”

Off-duty security work must be approved by the department and has historically been used by New Orleans police to supplement their salaries.

Off-duty details will continue, Lt. Sam Fradella, Taylor’s spokesman, said. But in the future, Fradella said there will be greater departmental scrutiny of the businesses hiring off-duty officers and the officers.

All sites wanting to hire off-duty officers will be inspected by the Police Department – before officers are assigned – to assure that they are in compliance with laws.

Fradella said the off-duty officers providing security to Crescent Cabaret had departmental approval to work there.

He also said “we don’t believe” any of them were present when the raid was conducted.

Had they been on site and observed violations of the law, Fradella said, “The superintendent feels that would merit disciplinary review of the officers’ action.”

Fradella refused to link the revision of off-duty detail regulations with the raid on Crescent Cabaret, which was the first major vice operation ordered by Taylor since he took control of the Vice Squad from the Criminal Investigations Bureau July 2 and expanded it.

The club reopened Monday.

Cagle said allegations by police that the club had no liquor licenses were “ludicrous.”

“Why would we invest a million dollars in a club and then not have our permits in order?” Cagle said.

City records show Crescent Cabaret received occupational, liquor and dance permits April 15.

A dancer arrested in the raid does not live at 1208 Ursulines St., as reported by police and published in Monday’s editions of The Times-Picayune, the owner of that residence said.”

2.20.93 TP

“Off-duty New Orleans police officers worked as security guards at a French Quarter striptease club that was raided Saturday by police, club owners and police said Monday.

Taylor has given all officers now working in establishments that serve alcoholic beverages until Friday to resubmit their applications for review.

Crescent Cabaret was closed Saturday night after a police vice raid. Two managers and 10 dancers were booked with a variety of municipal offenses.

Operators of the club maintain it was operating legally when raided. And a vice president of Crescent Cabaret Inc., Greg Cagle, said the club’s routine use of off-duty police officers buttresses that claim.

“Although the officers mainly provided security . . . they were there in the club and had occasion to see anything going on,” Cagle said.

“If we were doing anything illegal, I don’t think we’d be having off-duty police in our place,” he said.

But a Police Department lieutenant who scheduled off-duty officers to work for Crescent Cabaret said the officers worked outside and wouldn’t have known what was going on in the dance floor area.

“We handle the valet parking, the traffic control and secure their money so they don’t get robbed at the front door,” said Lt. L.J. Canal , commander of the homicide division.

“We’re not there for any type of innerclub activity and we wouldn’t have any first-hand knowledge (of alleged violations) because we don’t go inside the club.”

Off-duty security work must be approved by the department and has historically been used by New Orleans police to supplement their salaries.

Off-duty details will continue, Lt. Sam Fradella, Taylor’s spokesman, said. But in the future, Fradella said there will be greater departmental scrutiny of the businesses hiring off-duty officers and the officers.

All sites wanting to hire off-duty officers will be inspected by the Police Department – before officers are assigned – to assure that they are in compliance with laws.

Fradella said the off-duty officers providing security to Crescent Cabaret had departmental approval to work there.

He also said “we don’t believe” any of them were present when the raid was conducted.

Had they been on site and observed violations of the law, Fradella said, “The superintendent feels that would merit disciplinary review of the officers’ action.”

Fradella refused to link the revision of off-duty detail regulations with the raid on Crescent Cabaret, which was the first major vice operation ordered by Taylor since he took control of the Vice Squad from the Criminal Investigations Bureau July 2 and expanded it.

The club reopened Monday.

Cagle said allegations by police that the club had no liquor licenses were “ludicrous.”

“Why would we invest a million dollars in a club and then not have our permits in order?” Cagle said.

City records show Crescent Cabaret received occupational, liquor and dance permits April 15.

A dancer arrested in the raid does not live at 1208 Ursulines St., as reported by police and published in Monday’s editions of The Times-Picayune, the owner of that residence said.”

“This is ludicrous. It never happened,” said Lt. Michael Lentz, breaking the official Police Department silence on allegations earlier this week that the department either intentionally or through negligence took title to at least 22 vehicles without telling citizens they had been recovered.

The charges came from the Metropolitan Crime Commission, a nonprofit anti-crime group whose staff members said their investigation began with anonymous telephone tips and ultimately was aided by top brass within the Police Department detective bureau.

Under a 1991 city ordinance, stolen or abandoned vehicles not claimed by their owners after six months and attempts by police to locate them can be transferred to the city, with the Police Department getting first claim on cars to use in surveillance.

The Crime Commission alleged that a handful of police detectives either negligently overlooked or intentionally failed to notify owners about the vehicles so that detectives could claim them.

Lentz said Friday he was “setting the record straight” at the suggestion of Assistant Police Superintendent Antoine Saacks , whose jurisdiction includes the auto pound and whose brother, Lt. Jay Saacks , is the Police Department procurement officer who marked up cars for forfeiture.

While Lentz acknowledged that Jay Saacks marked up the windows of vehicles the department hoped to take before the six months was up, he said it was all done aboveboard.

“Jay marking those cars up is only part of the story, only part of procedure,” said Lentz, who also is commander of the Police Department auto theft bureau.

“We have procedure out here and it’s always enforced,” said Lentz, who took over the pound in September.

The allegations are being investigated by the city’s Office of Municipal Investigations, at the request of the Crime Commission, as well as by the Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division.

Despite Lentz’s denial of any wrongdoing, Superintendent Arnesta Taylor announced Friday that his office would investigate the allegations.

The three-paragraph statement said that Taylor was announcing the internal investigation “after consulting with the Orleans Parish district attorney’s office.

“If any violations of the law are discovered, a full investigation in cooperation with the Orleans Parish district attorney’s office will be conducted,” the release said.

Crime Commission staff director Rafayel Goyenache III said it was unclear how many people in the Police Department were aware of the methods detectives were using to seize the vehicles. But in each of the 22 cases in which he said police used improper tactics, the paperwork for the title transfer was OK’d by both Antoine Saaks and Taylor, as well as Ronal Serpas , assistant chief of detectives.

Goyenache said he delivered his investigative files to the municipal investigations office Friday. He said he plans to meet with district attorney investigators on the matter Monday.

In the meantime, Lentz, who also is commander of the Police Department’s burglary unit, said he welcomes the chance to answer questions.

He denied Crime Commission allegations that police are intentionally sidestepping proper methods of contacting owners of the vehicles.

Lentz said six police officers and one civilian employee under his supervision carry out the notification process. Procedure requires that they use the most up-to-date computer information available.

Part of the scheme alleged by the Crime Commission is the use of an outdated computer base that is less likely to put police in contact with the owner of a stolen vehicle or one towed for a parking violation.

The police pound supervisor also denied that cars in the pound are cannibalized for parts, allegations included in a memo written by an insurance adjuster who said he had a confrontation with Jay Saacs over ownership of a vehicle.

“We never do that. Never,” Lentz said. “That would be using other people’s vehicles to supply parts. There’s no way in the world we’d ever do that.”

Staff writer Karenna Gore contributed to this story.”

11.24.93 TP: “SAACKS PAID $100 PER BAR, SOURCES SAY

While Assistant Police Superintendent Antoine Saacks was negotiating a six-figure deal with a Nevada video gambling company, officers under him were trying to line up bars and restaurants as locations for the gambling machines, according to the Metropolitan Crime Commission and police sources.

The officers reportedly received $100 for each successful contact, said Anthony Radosti, associate director of the crime commission, a private, non-profit watchdog group.

It is not known whether the solicitations were made for United Gaming Inc., the company that in August agreed to pay Saacks $325,000 in ending a three-year business relationship. United pursued the possibility of putting its machines in bars and restaurants, but eventually decided against it, company documents show.

Saacks was suspended without pay Monday after disclosure of his business dealings, in which he kept company with a convicted felon and apparently violated a Police Department order prohibiting officers from working in the video poker industry.

Reports that police officers were being used to scout locations for the gambling machines surfaced during 1992, Radosti and two police officers said. Video poker became legal in Louisiana on Jan. 1, 1992.

“We have talked to police officers with intimate knowledge of police officers, in uniform, going to bars to hustle video poker locations,” Radosti said. “They said it was being done for Saacks .”

One veteran officer explained Tuesday how the solicitation worked.

“Officers were told to go out to the bars and restaurants where they had details or in their district and see if they wanted video poker machines,” said the officer, who requested anonymity. “If the place agreed to take a machine, there would be $100 in it for (the officers).”

Some officers who made pitches for video locations worked in the Criminal Investigations Bureau, which Saacks commanded until his suspension, the source said.

“The officers would do this on-duty, off-duty, whenever,” the officer said.

Among the officers who made the solicitations were a lieutenant, an officer assigned to the district attorney’s office and an officer working in the Downtown Development District, according to information received by the crime commission.

“We’ve passed all this information on to the proper federal authorities,” including the FBI and IRS, Radosti said.

The State Police are also looking into the matter, Capt. Ronnie Jones said Tuesday.

Saacks ‘ relationship with United began in 1990, when he made a trip to Las Vegas in the company of convicted felon Frank Caracci, a known associate of the late New Orleans crime boss Carlos Marcello, Radosti said. Caracci has been convicted of bribery and illegal transport of pinball machines, records show.

After three years of contacts, the relationship between Saacks and United soured, documents show. In the Aug. 23 agreement that ended their relationship, the company agreed to pay Saacks $325,000 for any “lobbying efforts, efforts in obtaining clientele or potential contracts.”

The earlier arrangement with the company was made despite a July 1992 order by then-Superintendent Arnesta Taylor prohibiting officers’ involvement in video gambling. The order prohibited officers from acting as agents for video poker companies in any capacity, including security.

Two weeks after the order, Saacks produced a form authorizing him to work as a “security consultant and detail organizer” for the video poker company.

Although Taylor’s signature appears on the form, on Monday he denied signing it.

Saacks did not return phone calls Tuesday, but his attorney Julian Murray is scheduled to hold a press conference today.”

11.30.93 TP: “EX-POLICE CHIEF LINKED SAACKS ‘ FRIEND TO MOB

The twice-convicted felon who has been tied to the video gaming dealings of suspended New Orleans police official Antoine Saacks was “involved in organized crime and vice-related crime since the 1950s,” according to a former New Orleans police chief.

Former Superintendent Clarence Giarrusso, in a 1974 letter to the state attorney general’s office, opposed a pardon for Frank Caracci after Caracci’s 1970 conviction for bribing an IRS agent. In the letter, Giarrusso also noted Caracci’s 1972 conviction for transporting pinball machines for illegal gambling.

“Caracci has been identified by federal, state and local authorities as an organized crime figure in the New Orleans area,” Giarrusso wrote to then-Attorney General William Guste.

Caracci, who was fined $10,000 and placed on two years probation, was eventually pardoned.

Caracci, who allegedly had ties to the late New Orleans crime boss Carlos Marcello, accompanied Saacks on a 1990 trip to Las Vegas to discuss video poker opportunities in New Orleans with United Gaming Inc.

During the trip, the two men were videotaped together on a security camera and Caracci’s address is listed on one of Saacks ‘ hotel bills.

Saacks was suspended Nov. 22 for his involvement with United at a time when police officers were prohibited from working in the video poker business. Saacks has defended his actions, saying he was granted permission to do business with United by then-Superintendent Arnesta Taylor. In August, United agreed to pay Saacks $325,000.

Saacks , in a press conference last week, defended his business dealings with Caracci and described him as a friend.

“I thought he would be a good partner for them (United) and I make no apologies for my friendship with Frank Caracci,” Saacks said.

Saacks admitted that he knew about Caracci’s bribery conviction, but said he was not aware that he was a “multiple convicted felon.”

The Police Department’s operations manual prohibits officers from associating with anyone of questionable character, including racketeers, gamblers and suspected felons.

Neither Saacks nor Caracci could be reached for comment Monday.

The Metropolitan Crime Commission, which has investigated Saacks ‘ video gaming dealings for the past nine months, said Saacks ‘ association with Caracci should be cause for concern.

“Here you have (Giarrusso) establishing that Caracci was involved in the corruption of law enforcement officials,” said Rafael Goyeneche, director of the crime commission, a private, non-profit watchdog group. “It ought to set off some bells.”

Goyeneche said he was shocked to hear Saacks defend his relationship with Caracci.

Saacks said he introduced United officials to Caracci because he owns a local amusement company and could provide expertise in placing amusement games in bars.

Caracci’s past was eventually a cause of concern for United and the Nevada Gaming Commission, which regulates all gaming businesses in the state. In 1992, United told Saacks they would no longer deal with him as long as Caracci was involved, company documents show.

But at his press conference last week, Saacks said, “If I were again called upon to recommend Mr. Caracci as a consultant I would not hesitate to do so.”

Goyeneche said he found it “incredible that Saacks said he would still do business with the man, especially after concerns raised by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.””

12.3.93 TP: “VIDEO POKER OWNER MADE DEAL WITH FELON

Robert Guidry, who is seeking a state permit to operate a gambling boat in Kenner, cut a deal in 1992 with twice-convicted felon Frank Caracci for a second gambling venture Guidry owns, according to a document obtained by The Times-Picayune.

The agreement, released by the Metropolitan Crime Commission, outlines an arrangement between Caracci and Guidry’s A.-Ace Video Gaming Company of Harvey. The deal pays Caracci and his two sons, Mark Caracci and Vincent Caracci, 25 percent of the net profits of any poker machines they place in businesses for Guidry. It was signed April 14, 1992.

Frank Caracci has been convicted of bribery and illegal transport of pinball machines. In a 1974 letter to the state attorney general’s office, former New Orleans Police Superintendent Clarence Giarrusso opposed a pardon for Caracci and said he had been “involved in organized crime and vice-related crime since the 1950s.”

Caracci eventually was granted a state pardon.

State law prohibits video poker companies from associating with known felons. A spokesman for A.-Ace acknowledged the agreement Thursday, but said the pardon cleared Caracci’s record.

“As far as the facts go, I can’t see where Mr. Guidry’s done anything wrong,” said David Baye, comptroller for several of Guidry’s businesses. Baye is listed on secretary of state records as A.-Ace’s secretary-treasurer.

A State Police spokesperson, Lt. Ginny May, said an association between a known felon and a video poker company “is against the rules.” May said she did not know whether the statute would apply to someone who was pardoned.

A.-Ace is being investigated by the State Police, who have termed the probe an investigation into administrative matters. Citing the investigation, State Police would not comment Thursday on the agreement between Guidry and the Caraccis.

Rafael Goyeneche III, managing director of the crime commission, said the State Police are aware of the agreement.

Frank Caracci has come under scrutiny recently because of his association with Antoine Saacks , who was suspended Nov. 22 as assistant superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department. Saacks was suspended for doing business with a video poker company, United Gaming Inc., of Las Vegas, in violation of Police Department regulations, but has denied any wrongdoing.

Goyeneche said Caracci was also involved with United Gaming until Nevada gaming authorities told the company that he was a convicted felon. After that he “faded into the background,” Goyeneche said.

Goyeneche said the association between Guidry and Caracci “was a natural.”

Baye said he knew nothing of Caracci’s past until it was disclosed by the news media. He said he wasn’t certain how the Guidry-Caracci association was forged.

“Personally, I don’t know,” he said. “At that time (when the video poker industry was getting started), you had people coming out of the woodwork.”

In the agreement, the Caraccis arranged for the “execution and delivery of contracts to place video draw poker devices owned and operated by Ace in licensed establishments.” In return, the Caraccis receive a commission of 25 percent of the net revenues from those machines.

An amendment to that agreement, dated Oct. 26, 1992, and signed by the parties, gave the Caraccis permission to enter into an “associate agreement with another unnamed operator of video draw poker devices,” at eight bars and restaurants, seven on Bourbon Street and the other in Metairie.

Baye said associates are very common in Louisiana’s video poker industry. An associate is not employed by the company, but is more like a “referral service,” Baye said. He said the commission “is kind of like a finder’s fee.”

Baye said didn’t know offhand Thursday how many associates A.-Ace has, but said the company has more than one. He also wasn’t certain how many machines the Caraccis have placed.

A.-Ace, licensed by the State Police in June 1992, owns 176 video poker machines in 66 bars and restaurants in the New Orleans area, according to Baye and state records. The company was incorporated Feb. 10, 1992, and Guidry is listed as president and director. Guidry is 100 percent owner, Baye said.

The State Police does background checks on companies and individuals seeking riverboat gambling permits. The investigation into Guidry’s video poker company comes while he awaits final approval to operate a riverboat at the Kenner boat launch on Lake Pontchartrain.

The TP reported this morning that Mitch finally renegotiated the River Birch contract.

About time, though maybe the TP’s report about campaign contributions & the existence oof certain RB players like Ann Duplessis – though while kindly without actually ppointing out their presence in the Mitch NO City Hall – might have pried things before the coming storm.

The cost was reduced from $34.25 per ton to $29.11 per ton. I wonder about the comparable costs in surrounding parish contracts, hidden fees, and the fact is NO is still in the monopoly situation, but still kudos to Mitch for at least getting that done.

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